This invention relates to stators for electric motors and especially to stators having laminated cores made from both metallic strip and moldable magnetic composite material, or with metallic strip alone, that are configured for simple assembly.
Amorphous metal is also known as metallic glass and exists in many different compositions including a variety of magnetic alloys. For power applications amorphous metal core material is promising because of the combination of potential low cost and low magnetic losses, which are as little as one-fourth the losses in silicon steel. Current and anticipated near-future capability of amorphous metal materials is limited to thin, narrow strip or tape and to flakes or filaments. These do not lend themselves to conventional motor structures which utilize relatively large flat laminations. Flat motor laminations are produced by punching from sheet and requires substantial investment in equipment; moreover, there is an appreciable amount of scrap that is not easily recycled into usable material. Insertion of electrical windings into the stator core in coventional constructions usually involves winding of coils in place or considerable careful insertion work either by hand or by complex machines.
Various suggestions have been made for fashioning amorphous metal ribbon into magnetic structures for electric machines and inductive components, and among these are U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,397, V. B. Honsinger and R. E. Tompkins, "Method and Apparatus for Fabricating Amorphous Metal Laminations for Motors and Transformers", and application Ser. No. 966,855 filed on Dec. 6, 1978, R. P. Alley and R. E. Tompkins, "Amorphous Metal Ballasts and Reactors". The foregoing and other copending applications are all assigned to the instant assignee. The motor stator structures according to this invention advantageously employ amorphous tape and flake but may utilize other materials with similar magnetic characteristics.